Visitors Bureau collecting photos, video, stories to promote city

Jul. 16, 2013

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To take part

The Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau has launched a campaign to collect pictures, videos and stories about what is great about this city. Items can be submitted through social media, using the hashtag #FallsInLove. Items may be used in advertising and promotional materials. There is no deadline for submissions.

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Writers, photographers and videographers have a chance to share what they love most about Sioux Falls with its visitors.

The Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau has launched a campaign urging people to submit pictures, videos and stories through social outlets, using the hashtag #FallsInLove.

“We want them to submit pictures and stories about what made them fall in love with Sioux Falls,” said Teri Schmidt, the CVB’s executive director. “Maybe it’s the trees, maybe it’s a piece of art, maybe it’s a park. We don’t know, and we want input from all facets of the community.”

The submissions will give residents a way to reach out to potential visitors, she said.

“We’re really excited about the possibilities,” Schmidt said. “With the excitement our own citizens have about the community and quality of life here, we anticipate a lot of response.”

Schmidt explained more about the promotion when she recently answered five questions.

1. Have you done anything like this before?

“Not in this format, no. We’ve had photo contests before, but not anything where it’s a real promotion. What we’re doing is we’re reaching out to people throughout our community because we feel like they’re the ones who either grew up here, moved here, started a family here or started a business. They have more passion about the community and parts of the community.”

2. Is there a particular theme?

“No. The reason there’s not a theme is we’re talking about convention-goers, bus-tour people, leisure travelers, whether it’s a family on vacation or coming here to shop or for medical attention. We don’t know what’s going to strike a chord with what group. Maybe a beautiful picture of Falls Park in winter will interest a group who wants to look at parks. Or aircraft at the air guard base will interest airline people and airplane enthusiasts. You never know what’s going to hit with a group, so we’ll have beautiful pictures, custom made.”

3. How should items be submitted?

“They can email them to us, or if they want to drop by with something, or they can mail a photo in, whatever is easiest for the people who have the photos or the videos. We’d like a name and contact, too, because we always want to thank people, too, for what they’re submitting. We’ll give credit for the photos, too.”

4. Are you asking for photos from local residents or from visitors?

“We’re really more targeting our own people, to get their feelings. They’re the ones who live here, the heart and soul of Sioux Falls. We do, at times, get photos from visitors who think they’ve taken a great picture and send it back. We may put them on the website, and they can be from anybody in the world.”

5. So anything someone submits could end up in a CVB promotion?

“They will knowingly give those to us, and we will not have to go out and get permission to use them in our materials. By submitting them to the #FallsInLove campaign, they’re essentially allowing us to use them.”